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Teaching With Graphic Novels in Grades 4–12 Classrooms

by Shelley Stagg Peterson

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© 2010 by Shelley Stagg Peterson. All rights reserved.

Excerpts from this publication may be reproduced with the express written permission of Portage & Main Press, or as permitted by law.

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The publisher gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Province of Manitoba through the Department of Culture, Heritage & Tourism and the Manitoba Book Publishing Tax Credit and the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund (CBF) for our publishing activities.

AcknowledgmentsExcerpts from Stone, Book 1 of the 7 Generations Series, are courtesy of HighWater Press.

lIBrArY AnD ArCHIvES CAnADA CATAloGuInG In PuBlICATIon

Peterson, Shelley Teaching with graphic novels in grades 4-12 classrooms [electronic resource] / by Shelley Stagg Peterson.

Includes bibliographical references. Electronic monograph in PDF format. ISBn 978-1-55379-263-5

1. reading--Study and teaching (Elementary). 2. reading comprehension-- Study and teaching (Elementary). 3. Media literacy--Study and teaching (Elementary). 4. literacy--Study and teaching (Elementary). 5. Graphic novels. 6. visual learning. I. Title.

lB1632.P48 2010 372.4 C2010-906973-0

www.pandmpress.com100-318 McDermot AvenueWinnipeg, MB Canada r3A 0A2Email: books@portageandmainpress.comToll-free: 1-800-667-9673Fax free: 1-800-734-8477

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Contents

chapter 1: teaching literacy with graphic novels 5A Case for Teaching With Graphic novels 5Teaching and Discussing Graphic novels: Building on Students’ learning 7

Sharing responsibility for learning With Students 8Building on Students’ Previous Experiences 8

chapter 2: using graphic novels to teach for understanding 10

Analyzing and Synthesizing visual and Print Information 10Panels and Gutters 11

Inferring and Making Predictions Based on Images 13Body language and Facial Expressions 13Perspective: Bug’s-Eye view and Top-of-the-Hat view 14Proximity: Close-ups and long Shots 14Movement: Diagonal lines, Placement of objects and Characters,

Placement of Gutters 15Synthesizing and Inferring Through reading Print 15

Captions 15Speech Balloons and Thought Balloons 16Sound-Effect Balloons 16

Assessing Students’ reading/Media literacy Strategies 16Figure 2.1: Checklist for recording observations of reading/

Media literacy Strategies 18

chapter 3: making connections and responding to graphic novels through writing, multimedia, and drama 20

Thinking Through Writing and Communicating With Peers 20other Writing and Multimedia responses 22Drama responses 23

Synthesizing the narrative Through Storytelling 23Inferring Characters’ Personalities and Motivations Through

Choral Speech 23

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Assessing Students’ Personal responses Through Writing, Multimedia, and Drama 24

Figure 3.1: Checklist for Assessing Personal responses Through Writing, Multimedia, and Drama 25

chapter 4: critical response activities using writing, multimedia, and drama 26

other Writing and Multimedia responses 28Drama responses 29

understanding Alternative Perspectives Through Hot Seating 29Dramatizing Scenes from Minor Characters’ Perspectives 29

Assessing Students’ Critical responses to Graphic novels 30Figure 4.1: Checklist for Assessing Critical responses Through Writing,

Multimedia, and Drama 31

references 32

appendix a: classroom materials 33CM #1 34CM #2 35CM #3 36CM #4 37CM #5 38CM #6 39CM #7 40

appendix b: recommended graphic novels 41For readers Age 8+ 42For readers Age 13+ 44

appendix c: other recommended resources for teachers 47Books and Articles 48Graphic novel Websites 48

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Chapter 1: Teaching Literacy With Graphic Novels

This e-book is for teachers who are fans of graphic novels and for those who are curious about graphic novels and excited about trying something new in their classrooms. It includes suggestions for incorporating students’ favourite graphic novels into classroom teaching. It also shows teachers how to capitalize on students’ excitement about graphic novels while they are teaching literacy/language arts curriculum objectives.

In this e-book, teachers will learn how they can use graphic novels in the classroom for the following purposes:

• Motivating students to engage with texts to gain a richer understanding of them

• Teaching reading strategies

• Teaching media literacy by developing students’ awareness of the textual craft of authors (e.g., dialogue, narration) and the visual craft of illustrators (e.g., perspective, panels, panoramic shot)

• Teaching critical literacy understandings about social and political inequalities – with an effort to bring about greater equity for all

A Case for Teaching With Graphic Novels

As in comic books, the plots and images in graphic novels are communicated through a symbiosis of print and visual images. In some cases, the visual information develops and intensifies the ideas and information found in the print. In other cases, the reverse is true. As such, the graphic novel should not be seen as a simplified version of a prose text, but as a completely different type of text (McCloud 1993).

unlike comic books, however, graphic novels are usually printed on high-quality paper and have durable bindings; hardcover graphic novels are fairly common. Graphic novels are usually of chapter-book length, often with a hundred pages or more. The topics addressed are far-reaching: from super-hero adventure to narratives of historical events, from classic literature

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teaching with graphic novels in grades 4–12 classrooms

6

to realistic fiction, and beyond. More and more graphic novels are being published today for school-aged children and are appropriate for classroom use. (See appendix B for a list of graphic novels that have both literary and artistic merit, as well as insight into important themes.)

Graphic novels have not always been considered classroom-appropriate. Many educators believed graphic novels provided students with limited possibilities for developing reading skills and knowledge. They felt that students could look at the pictures and make sense of the novels without reading the text. In reality, quite the opposite is true. It is because much of the plot and character development in graphic novels is embedded in the illustrations that students are able to improve their visual and print reading abilities. To make sense of graphic novels, students must have a grasp of the following types of information (cueing systems):

• Graphophonic (letter-sound relationships)

• Syntactic (the ways the words go in sentences)

• Semantic (implied and conventional meanings of words, sentences, paragraphs, and pictured images)

• Pragmatic (arrangement of and relative size of the panels on the page, font size and type, use of speech or thought balloons, role of gutters to convey the passage of time, etc.)

Graphic novels, thus, “require different and possibly even more complex reading skills than traditional print texts” (Hughes and King 2010, 65). Because readers must be attentive to the detail in both the illustrations and the print, they become accomplished at interpreting two types of information and the relationships between them. Having these skills is increasingly important as multi-modal texts – texts that interweave print with other modes of communication, such as visual images, sound, and moving images – become part of everyday life in the work world, as well as in young people’s recreational worlds. Teachers, then, can use graphic novels to support students’ development in reading the ever-expanding range and types of texts.

The graphic novel is an especially effective teaching tool for struggling readers, English-language learners, and reluctant readers. There is no question that students who struggle with decoding find graphic novels easier to read and less intimidating than other texts. Because the amount of text is reduced, there is less of a demand to decode the print. The illustrations also provide these students with help in making sense of words and the story as a whole. Indeed, according to Booth and lundy (2007, 37), “the scaffolding necessary to create proficient readers is built into the way the graphic novel is constructed.” readers who have limited sight vocabularies and are unfamiliar with some of the concepts and vocabulary in the text can use the visual images to help them predict unfamiliar words and understand the story and ideas in the graphic novel.

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